Case History - Global Power Plant Valve Manufacturer

The Company
Control Components, Inc. (CCI) designs, manufactures and installs a customized, highly-engineered portfolio of control valves for new plant builds and also provides complete plant lifecycle service support. Its products are key components of complex energy and production processes.
As part of IMI plc, CCI operates a global service network, with manufacturing facilities in 16 countries, employing over 4,000 professionals across a range of disciplines.
IMI Critical Engineering is a world-leading provider of critical flow control solutions that enable vital energy and process industries to operate safely, cleanly, reliably and more efficiently. There are three broad classes based on the severity of the application they serve: general service; semi-severe and severe service providing finely tuned valve solutions derived from system-wide process insight.

The Challenges
CCI had the following business-related challenges:

Salesforce integration: Prior to SSG’s involvement, a customized order entry system was developed on CCI’s Salesforce platform. The challenge was to integrate this functionality with the MK ERP system.

Project reporting: Program managers require specific financial reporting in order to successfully quote future projects. There was limited visibility regarding the costs of production/operations, and determining project-related costs was a manual and labor-intensive process.

Disaster recovery solution: Due to an audit requirement, CCI required the creation of a disaster recovery program. Creating a disaster recovery solution on its MK Unix/BISAM platform was not cost-effective.

Implementation of MK ERP in European Division, which Included rollout and implementation of the Inventory Control and Finance modules/functions.

The Solutions
Strategic Systems Group, Inc. (SSG) provided the following services in order to address CCI’s challenges and business-process requirements:

SSG provided software development that enabled a more efficient sales order transfer process from Salesforce. SSG created a custom interface to the MK ERP system, eliminating the need for redundant data entry. It was such a successful launch that it is planned to be rolled out to CCI’s aftermarket division.

SSG also provided software development services that improved the project reporting process. SSGBusIntell data warehouse was installed and implemented, which added increased reporting capabilities, including a much-improved a key data extract (which is Excel compatible/readable). This new capability eliminated a labor-intensive, manual data-entry process. The new reporting functionality allowed costing by valve within each project, which greatly improved CCI’s ability to accurately quote future projects.

SSG provided software development in Crystal reports which significantly increased CCI’s internal forms generation capabilities. An automated process creates sales order acknowledgements that are then e-mailed to business partners. In addition, CCI has the internal capability to design, create and implement future business forms easily in pdf format.
SSG performed a partial migration from the MK Unix/BISAM to Windows/SQL platform, as a part of a disaster recovery (DR) solution project. In the event of a disaster, the Windows SQL platform can be activated in a reasonable timeframe, allowing business operations to return to normal.

SSG migrated software customizations and data into the new platform. SSG also set up new users and printer configurations, provided training and documentation, and trained I/T staff in MK-specific disaster recovery processes.

SSG provided a combination of on-site and remote support services relating to the MK ERP Implementation in Switzerland. SSG rolled out and implemented the inventory management and finance functions.

In addition, SSG provided general application support services, including Invoice revision/reformatting, MK custom reporting, general resource augmentation services, as well as comprehensive technical support.

The Results
The new and upgraded sales order (SO) interface saves CCI time by eliminating re-keying along with reducing data entry errors. Salesforce integration led to improved sales order-processing capabilities, resulting in a 20% improvement in order-entry capacity.

The improved projects reporting capabilities eliminated the need to manually key in data, which improved the cost analysis process, allowing the organization to be able to quote future projects more quickly and accurately.

SSG also provided on-call back-up software support services, which was due to a lack of internal resources, as well as inadequate software support,

Testimonial“SSG provided valuable outsourced applications management services, delivered what they promised, with quick time-to-completion, which saved money, and allowed me to sleep at night.
SSG provided us with all of our business process improvement options, worked within the overall budget, and has provided many customizations and improvements. SSG has been a valued business partner for over 15 years.

SSG was able to extend and leverage our existing systems and business processes. We were able to efficiently utilize our limited I/T resources which saved us time and money, and allowed extended use of our existing system prior to needing its replacement. This allowed us to concentrate on our core business processes.”George Gatus, Systems Support Analyst.

For more information about how SSG can help your organization, please contact SSG at (310) 539-4645 or via the contact form today!